Unofficial Halesowen Town FC Forum

Every football fan should be able to remember their first game, and as a newbie to the forum, I thought it would be nice to read stories of people's first game watching the Yeltz and also how they came about supporting this great and historic football club! Apologies if this has already been covered in the past on the forum but I did have a quick scan through the pages and couldn't find a topic like this.

So anyway, I'll start with mine....

Saturday October 13th 2001 - FA Cup 3rd Qualifying Round vs Canvey Island.

First and foremost my first love when it comes to football is the Villa (which again I make apologies for however someone has to support them!) but I was 13 at the time and was at that age where I started to realise that there were leagues that went past Divison 3 (what is now known as League 2) and started checking the local league results in the Sunday Mercury newspaper. Me and a couple of mates from school decided to go and watch a local game to passify a Saturday afternoon rather than 'hang' at the local park. A couple of weeks prior I had gone to watch a Halesowen Harriers (remember them?!) game which was probably my nearest local club before they folded and their ground turned into Powerleague. I can't remember who they played now but think they won 3-1 and was fairly satisfied but wouldn't say I was overwhelmed by the experience.

Fast forward a couple of weeks later and by looking in that weeks Halesowen News I found out Halesowen Town were at home to Canvey Island in the 3rd Qualifying Round of the FA Cup. Again I was surprised as I thought the FA Cup started from the 3rd Round in January! So me and my mates decided to give it a try and made the short bus journey from Colley Gate down to 'The Grove'.

The Yeltz at the time had just been relegated to the Southern League (Dr Martens who sponsored it then) Western Division, what was Tier 3 of non-league football before the restructure a few years later. They had some
experienced players back then who had played at higher levels such as Tim Clarke, Dennis Bailey, Lee Collins, Les Hines and of course the 'cult hero' Leroy May.

So as an under 16 we paid £1 to get in and decided to 'upgrade' for an extra 50p to watch the game in The Harry Rudge Stand. And I have to say the atmosphere was buzzing! Canvey Island brought a load of fans and were packed out in The Shed End which became a sea of yellow and blue with fans in replica shirts throwing around the same colour balloons, many covering the pitch singing and cheering their team on. The Yeltz fans were also in fine voice standing at The Stourbr*dge Road end of the ground. I think there was over 800 people in attendance that day.

I can't remember the exact permutations of the game now but I remember we went down 2-0 in the end. Canvey were the higher placed team, in the Isthmian Premier league (Tier 2 at the time) and their classed showed. Funnily enough, that season Canvey Island went on to reach the 3rd round proper of the FA Cup, beating Northampton Town in a game that was televised. If only things had been different!

But the atmosphere that day was unreal and I got 'that vibe' so much so that I came the next week where we played Atherstone United, and lost 2-1 albeit in a slightly more sparsely populated attendance. It's fair to say I didn't bring much luck to the Yeltz in my first couple of games but it didn't stop me from coming again as I was hooked. But it ended well as we finished top of the league and gained promotion back to the Southern Premier League and clinched the Championship with a dramatic 2-1 away win at Mangotsfield which I was there for and I'm sure drew many comparisons with the Belper Town away game last season.

Over the next few seasons I attended games when I could depending on Villa commitments and attended a fair few away games too before work commitments and Halesowen's slump in form in a period the club would rather forget meant my trips to the Grove amounted to Bank Holiday games generally against 'them lot from down the road.' It's fair to say that I maybe fell out of love with Halesowen as the passion wasn't there anymore although I still kept an eye on their results.

Fast forward to Saturday 19th October 2013 and me and a good friend of mine decided to attend the FA Trophy game against St. Neots which coincided with the opening of the James Grove Bar. We went down 3-1 in the game but for me the opening of the bar was the catalyst for the rebirth of my passion for Halesowen Town. I attended around a dozen games last season including my first Yeltz away trip in 6 years at Market Drayton. It was a great season and one that reminded me of my first season back in 2001-02.

For me the good times for Halesowen are back and the feel good factor has returned to The Grove. I'm looking forward to coming to a fair few games this season and hopefully a couple of away trips, and I can't bloomin' wait!!

Fantastic post Dale.

My first Yeltz memory was quite different.

I was a very typical Premier League football supporter and although I knew obviously that non league existed, I was, ashamed to say, unaware of Halesowen Town.

As a photographer one of my sources of income is Wedding photography.

I was contacted by a couple who lived in Halesowen to cover their wedding, I went to meet them and on the way stopped at the BP fuel station at the back of the Grove and saw the ground.

The following day I looked on the interweb and saw on the website that you had a photographer already.

Thinking what harm could it do I banged an email off to the club.

Got a more or less instant reply from Paul Guest stating that they no longer had a photographer as he was the old goalkeepers father who had now left the club, and they had a committee meeting that night.

Got a message the next day saying it was a yes all round and they had a game that week if I wished to attend and would be more than welcome.

That game was Coalville at home last season in the pouring down rain.

Two dodgy penalties culminated in us losing 3-0, bad omen so I thought.

The rest as they say is history, missed 3 games home and away all last season and plan to be at the majority of the games this season.

Really taken the club to my heart and couldn't have hoped to have met a more friendly bunch of playets, officials and fans.

Thank you Halesowen

#UpTheYeltz

I recall going to the Yeltz as early as Summer 2002, albeit as an Albion fan to attend a friendly. My Nan got struck in the face with the ball (sitting in the Harry Rudge). She found it funny, so no harm done to her, although it could have knocked some much missing sense into her!

We (Yeltz as I am now) won 2-1 I believe, or even 2-0. The Albion side was very much made up of reserves but contained the likes of Big Dave (Darren Moore) and I think Derek McInnes.

As a Yeltz supporter, my first real games were probably around 2007/2008 season up until 2010. Around the time we had Nick Bussey in goal and Stefan Moore up front! two notable players I recall from that era. I attended the odd matches but nothing like I do now, probably 3/4 a season, if that. One match from this era sticks in my mind. We took a 2/3 goal lead quite early on and ended up losing 5-3, it was a game towards the back end of the season, possibly the very last home game....just researched this and it was this game;

http://ht-fc.com/djs-match-reports-2008 ... -town.html

I didn't attend past 2010, due to the obvious happenings that ensued at the Grove...

I re-attended during last pre-season, for the free friendly against Causeway, Ben scoring a couple of fine goals in that game. I intended to pop down regular - whenever Albion weren't playing. Last season was the first time I didn't renew my WBA season ticket for a decade...I didn't attend a single Albion game last season and haven't missed a Yeltz game since Boxing Day 2013, only missing a handful.

First home game was the first home game last season against Sutton, our now very own Joel Kettle netting a winner in a match I thought we just about edged, and as always, some very poor officiating managing to ruin the match!

I can only echo what Dave has said, this club and its people grabbed hold of me. It is a pleasure to watch this group of players and I suppose some (not all ) of the company is aright!

Perhaps against the grain of the topic I cant remember the exact date/game I first attended however it was during the Paul Holleran tenure and I would have been 9 or 10 and remember barely being able to see over the boards, taken along by my dad who had lived a 5 minute walk from the ground when he was younger.

This resulted me in being the mascot for a game on the 9th September 2006 against Maidenhead which I remember well in a ridiculously short pair of shorts and remember walking out of the tunnel with Nicky Preston and getting to keep the pound from the coin toss. As I got older I grew more interested continuing to go with my Dad on a fairly regular basis with many memorable away trips also along the way such as Chippenham, Team Bath and Cheshunt which I shall definitely not be re-visiting. As well as memorable home moments, 'that' goal by maquemba and stefan moores 'goal' through the side netting and Matt Clarkes reaction at half time...priceless

Along with others my attendance dipped during the 'dark days' but I picked it back up when John Hill took over and have continued to go reguarly once more and hope to do so for the forthcoming season now at the tender age of 18 along with my Dad

My memory is a bit hazy but I think my first memory is an evening game against Gloucester City when we won 4-3 or something like that back in the mid 90s. I was still a regular Saddlers fan in those days but loved the experience. There was a decent crowd with plenty from Gloster and great banter between the two sets of fans. Glos were ahead at half time but we pulled it back in the second half, attacking the Stourbr*dge Road end. I went and stood behind the goal and was struck by the passion of not only the fans around me but the players as well as the goals went in - the sort of guys who would run through brick walls for the team. Like others since then I started coming more often - although Walsall were still my team. I kept attending through the dark days but stopped sometime in the Ingrams era. But since John Hill has arrived my interest has been re-awakened - the Yeltz are my team now - I was at virtually every home game last season and Belper was my first away trip since the fateful Team Bath play off. Really looking forward to this season - its going to be great!

dalevillain wrote: Saturday October 13th 2001 - FA Cup 3rd Qualifying Round vs Canvey

I remember it well. The highlight of the game for me was an inspired chant from the Shed End. Their manager was one hell of a fat b*stard by the name of Jeff King. He was standing there quite casually outside his dugout, with his paunch overflowing, when some wag started a chant of (to the tune of Bread of Heaven):

"Get your belly, get your belly, get your belly OFF THE PITCH!"

I told this story to a work friend just recently and he enjoyed it so much he's committed himself to come down at least once this season.

In answer to the original question- a 2-0 win against Moor Green in 1992. I've still got the programme.

wednesburystokie wrote:Fantastic post Dale.

...

#UpTheYeltz

Wow, great post Dave! Didn't realise you were a 'newbie' to the club. Thought you had been here a few years. I remember that game well, was an awful night on and off the pitch. Think I spent most of that game either in The Shed or the JG Lounge and even ended up the last part in the Harry Rudge stand!

Doing a fantastic job though with the pics, keep it up!

RaidenYeltz wrote:I recall going to the Yeltz as early as Summer 2002, albeit as an Albion fan to attend a friendly. My Nan got struck in the face with the ball (sitting in the Harry Rudge). She found it funny, so no harm done to her, although it could have knocked some much missing sense into her!

We (Yeltz as I am now) won 2-1 I believe, or even 2-0. The Albion side was very much made up of reserves but contained the likes of Big Dave (Darren Moore) and I think Derek McInnes.

I was at that game, it was 2-0 to the Yeltz. Must say as a Villa fan I enjoyed giving my Albion supporting mates who had come down to the game expecting them to win comfortably some stick!

piearce9 wrote:

dalevillain wrote: Saturday October 13th 2001 - FA Cup 3rd Qualifying Round vs Canvey

I remember it well. The highlight of the game for me was an inspired chant from the Shed End. Their manager was one hell of a fat b*stard by the name of Jeff King. He was standing there quite casually outside his dugout, with his paunch overflowing, when some wag started a chant of (to the tune of Bread of Heaven):

"Get your belly, get your belly, get your belly OFF THE PITCH!"

I told this story to a work friend just recently and he enjoyed it so much he's committed himself to come down at least once this season.

In answer to the original question- a 2-0 win against Moor Green in 1992. I've still got the programme.

Ha, that amused me reading that. I vividly remember the Halesowen fans shouting something but couldn't remember what it was, although to be honest don't think I would probably have heard being in The Harry Rudge Stand at the time anyway.

Ah, I wished I would have got a programme from this game as I didn't get one. I got most of them from that season - the programmes vs Solihull when we won 4-1 to seal promotion and the Mangotsfield away game which take pride of place in my collection.

I don't tend to buy them now unless I visit a new ground or its a special game.

can't remember my first match, nor most early matches..its because i wasn't interested in football at the time but my old grandad had just retired and i thought it would be good idea to find him something to give him a interest rather than just mope around indoors. it was 1980 and we had just moved to live in Halesowen so chose the local team..us and 6 others!
but then it gets you..HTFC gets you and even when he couldn't make the games any more i couldn't keep away, the twins were playing and we were winning league matches with style..still 6 supporters and a dog though...but then came the vase..thats what bought in the fans...it needed an amazing cup run..we had three!
I haven't missed a home game since...